The present invention generally relates to a reversible drain basin. More specifically, the present invention relates to a reversible drain basin selectively mountable to a bottle filler or liquid supply station in a first forward configuration over a drinking fountain or other liquid receptacle or in a second rearward configuration for connection to an in-wall drain pipe system.
Wall-mounted liquid supply stations (e.g., bottle-filling stations) are commonly used to provide building occupants with a mechanism to easily fill a drinking vessel (e.g., bottle, cup, mug, etc.) as this can sometimes be difficult with a standard water fountain. That is, a water fountain having a shallow drain basin or limited water pressure can make it challenging to sufficiently fill the drinking vessel. In this respect, bottle-filling stations known in the art include an alcove sized to receive the drinking vessel underneath a water dispenser and may have a grille or base to support the drinking vessel during filling. Water dispenses from the top of the alcove and into the drinking vessel, to fill the drinking vessel with water. A drain underneath the drinking vessel may channel spillage or overflow into an underlying water fountain for draining into a central plumbing system. There are a variety of drains known in the art for draining overflow or spillage from the bottle-filling station into such a drinking fountain. These conventional drains are typically only installable in one orientation and capable of channeling the spilled liquid in one direction (e.g., only into the water fountain). Importantly, conventional drains cannot be positioned in one orientation to channel liquid forward into the water fountain and/or positioned in a rearward orientation to channel liquid back into a drain pipe disposed within the wall. As such, the market for drains that mount in different orientations is limited in scope and content.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,982 to Laios discloses an air conditioning unit that includes the ability to convert between horizontal air flow and vertical air flow. More specifically, the air conditioning unit includes a drain pan that collects water produced by air flowing over air conditioner coils. The condensate may then be removed from the drain pan via a threaded coupling to which a pipe or hose connects. The drain pan is designed to convert between horizontal and vertical positions depending on the orientation of the air conditioner. To change the position of the drain pan, it is necessary to remove and reconfigure the entire air conditioning unit. Importantly, the drain pan is not simply reversible by selectively removing a set of screws that connect the drain pan to a base part of the air conditioning unit. That is, the drain pan cannot be reversed without completely disassembling the air conditioner. Moreover, the entire air conditioning unit must also be reoriented to operate the drain in a “reverse” configuration. This is clearly problematic for many types of liquid supply systems (e.g., bottle filling stations) because the drain must be directly below the dispensing head (i.e., in the same orientation) in both the forward and reverse drain positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,193 to Hobbs discloses a reversible drain outlet box for installation in a wall for connection with water supply lines or drain lines. The drain outlet box is basically a molded plastic box having a generally symmetrical outer housing configured to attach between closely spaced studs. The outlet box may include several different connectors mounted to opposite surfaces to provide the installer with a variety of options for connecting the outlet box with either water supply lines or drain lines by rotating the box 180 degrees, depending on the structure and location of the aforementioned lines within the framed structure of a building. The box, however, does not otherwise permit a user to determine the draining direction (e.g., forward or rearward).
U.S. Publication No. 2009/0242075 to Busick discloses a combined water fountain and bottle filler combination. Specifically with respect to the drain mechanism, the bottle filler includes a grille underlying a water dispenser positioned within an alcove. The grille is configured to collect water and is coupled to a drainage pipe concealed within the casing of the bottle filler. Importantly, however, the casing is substantially flush with the wall such that the grille does not extend out therefrom an appreciable distance to drain into the underlying water fountain. In fact, even if one could reverse the orientation of the grille, the bottle filler still would not be able to drain into both the water fountain and the drainage pipe.
There exists, therefore, a significant need in the art for a reversible drain basin selectively mountable to a liquid supply system such as a bottle filler in either a forward position, which allows draining into a water fountain extending out from a wall, or a rearward position, which allows draining into a drain pipe located internally or within a wall, without disassembling and/or reorienting the liquid supply or bottle-filling station. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.